Well, that happened!
The NBA Draft was last night, and a bunch of stuff happened. LEt’s go through the night as best and briefly we can in The Cheat Sheet.
Sixers draft Fultz No. 1
After previously making a trade with the Boston Celtics before the NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers made the first overall pick in the NBA Draft for a second straight season. A year after drafting Ben Simmons, the Sixers completed their backcourt of the future with the selection of Markelle Fultz out of Washington. The process that has been a multi-year work in progress is now ready to officially transition to the next stage of this grand plan, and that means it is time to start bringing this team of young stars together and developing the chemistry the Sixers and their fans have been hoping this all leads to.
Philly! The Process led me here and we won't rest until we're No. 1. Check out my rookie card https://t.co/MXUJux4jzq #WhoDoYouCollect pic.twitter.com/HKydNE6US2
— Markelle Fultz (@MarkelleF) June 23, 2017
The top draft pick came wearing the best shoes too.
Ball is life… also shoes. pic.twitter.com/NvmfEfXv8E
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) June 23, 2017
Fultz received a warm welcome from the Philly sports community…
According to Sixers fans, the new nickname is the "FEDS" (Fultz, Embiid, Dario, Simmons).. the FEDS are coming ???#TheProcess
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) June 22, 2017
Welcome to Philly, @MarkelleF!
Come by sometime to throw out a first pitch. We've got this waiting for you. #BrotherlyLove #TrustTheProcess pic.twitter.com/54Y96yu5IW
— Phillies (@Phillies) June 22, 2017
Welcome to Philly @MarkelleF ! Y'all about to do big things @sixers !
— Carson Wentz (@cj_wentz) June 22, 2017
Congrats bro @MarkelleF #PhillyBoys
— Sidney Jones IV (@SidneyJonesIV) June 22, 2017
Death Row 2K17 #Sixers pic.twitter.com/WKldBJx3RQ
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) June 22, 2017
Lakers draft Lavar Ball’s son and Lavar makes a playoff guarantee
With the second pick in the draft, the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Lonzo Ball out of UCLA, as most pretty much assumed would happen since the moment the Lakers got the second pick in the NBA Draft Lottery. That’s nice and all, but you know who ended up grabbing the spotlight, courtesy of anybody with a microphone and a camera. We should probably be surprised LaVar Ball didn’t go up on stage to shake Adam Silver’s hands himself.
And Lavar did not take long to make a guarantee about the Lakers for the upcoming season. He says Lonzo is taking them to the playoffs this upcoming season.
Lonzo’s new head coach, Luke Walton, shrugged aside the playoff guarantee from Lavar Ball. Meanwhile, NBA players were roasting Lavar on Twitter. And let the fun begin with the Lakers.
Bulls ship Jimmy Butler to Minnesota
Well, forget about those Jimmy Butler to Cleveland rumors. Instead, he’s moving to Minnesota. It was the first of many moves on the night, and it may have been among the most significant.
Chicago is finalizing a deal to send Jimmy Butler to Minnesota for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and No. 7 pick, league source says.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 22, 2017
Hate to see @JimmyButler go. One of the @NBA's best two way players who has come a LONG way. Thibs is fortunate to get him back.
— Scottie Pippen (@ScottiePippen) June 23, 2017
dwayne wade when he found out jimmy butler was traded after he opted in to stay with the Bulls pic.twitter.com/c0UyVDOH2Y
— boofpak thug ? (@LILAFRIMANE) June 23, 2017
As you can imagine, it was quite a night to be following Adrian Wojnarowski.
Indiana and Boston are engaged in serious talks on a Paul George trade, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 22, 2017
Sources: Boston, Indiana talks for Paul George had gained significant momentum, but sides are still apart on a possible deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 23, 2017
Sources: For now, Boston-Indiana talks on Paul George have stalled. Live: https://t.co/pVi69Gfatv
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 23, 2017
Sources: Golden State acquired Jordan Bell from the Bulls for cash. A lot of it. https://t.co/2QXpmuJIyb
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 23, 2017
Utah will trade Nos. 30 and 42 to Lakers for No. 28, securing Tony Bradley, league sources tell @TheVertical. https://t.co/wmPNky95N2
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 23, 2017
Trying to keep up with all the Woj bombs and Paul George rumors like pic.twitter.com/Yg8Vo1uyZw
— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) June 23, 2017
Following NBA news on draft night… pic.twitter.com/ZjmyVnpfMb
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) June 22, 2017
Unfortunately for Brian Windhorst, he picked the absolute worst time to update his phone.
Quick Hits
– The NFL has a new highest-paid player after the Oakland Raiders and quarterback Derek Carr came to a contract agreement.
Welcome to the top, Derek Carr. ? pic.twitter.com/wHsqt6n4pF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 22, 2017
CLUTCH.
Sit back and enjoy all 12 of @derekcarrqb's 4th-quarter comebacks in his career (so far). pic.twitter.com/eV7VfilVqJ
— NFL (@NFL) June 23, 2017
– The Chicago Cubs sent 2016 postseason hero Kyle Schwarber back down to the minors yesterday.
– Kentucky coach John Calipari thinks one-and-dones in basketball are just fine. Of course he does.
– When out on the golf course, it is understood you don’t drive the golf cart on the green. But if you happen to be the President of the United States and own your own golf course, I guess you can do what you want.
President Trump driving his golf cart all over the green is the most Trump thing ever
(via MikeNFrank/Twitter) pic.twitter.com/UWuIcCIOnT
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 22, 2017
– Speaking of Trump, he nominated New York Jets owner Woody Johnson to be an ambassador to the United Kingdom.
President Donald Trump intends to nominate Woody Johnson to ambassador position.
MORE → https://t.co/Uer5MhVpeT
— New York Jets (@nyjets) June 23, 2017
– Also across the pond, there will be no more sponsorship deals between the Football Association and companies dealing in gambling.
– Andy Reid signed a long-term extension with the Kansas City Chiefs. Enjoy those years of failing to win anything more than a division championship, Kansas City.
– Amazon is going to charge big bucks for commercials during its live Thursday Night Football coverage this fall.
– Maybe it’s just me, but I think Tom Brady looks a little too deflated to be a sumo wrestler.
– Our baseball crew came together to determine once and for all who the best manager in baseball is today.
– Our college football team determines where the MAC stands in the Group of Five pecking order.
– There is now a street named after David Ortiz in Boston.
– Fidget spinners are hazardous to your health…
– This guy recreated the first level from Super Mario Bros. in virtual reality. On a related note, the annual Mario Marathon for charity is starting up today. Check it out.
– Ron Howard is taking over as director of the upcoming Star Wars standalone film focusing on Han Solo.
– A bike-sharing company in China went bankrupt after claiming to lose about 90 percent of its bikes.
One last gratuitous moment of procrastination
Conan took on Will Arnett in a few rounds of ARMS for the Nintendo Switch (which is a pretty fun game, by the way).